Old Covenant – Ten Commandments

Posted on November 2, 2014 by ACTheologian
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This is the second post in a series, for the first please click HERE.  In my previous post I indicated that I would state why I believe those verses matter.  They matter because they demonstrate a proof text on the old covenant that specifically speaks to Seventh Day Adventists.  If you show them to any current SDA it is going to give them great pause.  It took me a while to find just a handful of verses that can do this but that was the result of my work.

 

In this post I am going to speak about the Old Covenant and the Ten Commandments.  As a Seventh Day Adventist I was taught that the Ten Commandments stand today as they did when they were given on Mount Sinai.  They also teach that to break any one of them, including the fourth, is to sin.  

 
Seventh Day Adventists clear this up by teaching that the Ten Commandments are separate from the ceremonial laws of the old testament.  They also call these the “Law of Moses”.  I was taught that the Law of Moses was nailed to the cross but that the Ten Commandments were not and that I would have to follow them perfectly under my own power after the close of probation without the mediator (Jesus Christ). 
 

If it were true that the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments were separate then this theory would pass a test of hermeneutical scrutiny throughout the whole Bible.  Instead what we see below is a sampling of verses where it is clear that the Law of the Lord and the Law of Moses are referred to interchangeably.   This means that the writers of the Bible considered the Old Covenant as being a whole.  If they had not they would have divided the two as consistently as the SDA do.  Take a look at the below verses to see my point:

 

“(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)    And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:23-24 KJV

 

If this were to pass the test of SDA doctrine it would have to say Mosaic Ceremonial Law, or something to that effect, but it does not.  Instead it says “Law of the Lord”.

 

To offer burnt offerings unto the  Lord  upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the  Lord , which he commanded Israel; 1 Ch 16:40 KJV

 

Again, under SDA theology as I was taught this should only be about the Ceremonial Law of Moses.  Yet the wording doesn’t match that.

 

He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the  Lord . 2 Ch 31:3 KJV

 

Once again, Law of the Lord rather that Law of Moses.

 

“For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:” Mark 7:10 KJV

 

Now it references Mosaic Law, but for the Ten Commandments.

 

“For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.” Matt 15:4 KJV

 

And now God is referenced but on the same exact commandment.

 

So what we clearly see above is that all 613 old covenant laws are referred to interchangeably by the Holy Ghost as each verse was written.  This demonstrates that the titles of these laws are synonymous of each other, referring to the greater whole rather than one section.  To attempt to separate them is contrary to scripture because God did not separate them.  Only man has with false teachings.

 

This shows that it is disingenuous to claim the Ten Commandments as a whole or in part are not subject to abrogation in the New Covenant, as is clearly the case with other Ceremonial Laws even amongst SDA.

 

“And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.    The Lord  our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.    The  Lord  made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.    …   Thou shalt have none other gods before me.    Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above …  And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” Deut 5:1-8, 21-22 KJV

 

In the above verse we see that the Old Covenant was not established until Horeb and that the Ten Commandments are part of this covenant.  Keep reading down chapter 5 and you will see that they list out the Ten Commandments whilst remaining clearly in the context of the Covenant that was made at Horeb.  This is very damaging to SDA theology because the two have to be separate for their teachings to be true.

 

Posted in Leaving Adventism, New Covenant | Tagged | 13 Comments

Leaving Adventism

Posted on November 2, 2014 by ACTheologian

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I grew up in the seventh-day Adventist church.  I loved it as a child, being Adventist made me feel special.  I still know their lingo and am familiar with all of their core beliefs.

The truth is that Adventists don’t all believe the same things.  There are those who really espouse Ellen G. White and those that respect her but consider themselves “Sola-Scriptura”.  If you had asked me a few years ago I would have told you that I was the latter.  However, to be honest I didn’t study my bible much and relied on the pastors and teachers to tell me what to believe.  I liked Ellen White well enough back then but didn’t care too much as to whether or not she was a prophet because in my mind the SDA were correct anyways with or without her. At least you know where I am coming from now.

I was personally afraid to leave SDA because even though the thought wasn’t clear in my head, the concern was that if I left I wouldn’t go to heaven.  I believed that at the close of probation I would be found a Sabbath breaker and would get the mark of the beast.  If you’re reading this blog now and this is what you believe please let me assure you that you are in no way saved by the Sabbath, not even in the end times.  You are saved by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ shed for all of your sins on the cross.  No matter how the end times go down this is still true.

That said I am going to start out this blog by describing the doctrine of the New Covenant with scripture.  It was something that I was unaware of as SDA and it was what theologically broke the last tie I had with them.  When I studied the scripture behind the New Covenant I found my Bible truly was a sword.   That always sounded like nice imagery in the past, but it became practical for me in this study.  I can’t share everything today, and it will probably take up my first series of posts to complete everything that I have to say on it.  However I will start off by sharing what I have found to be the most powerful string of verses debunking SDA doctrine.  In the next post I will tell you why these matter.  Regardless of your theology or tradition the following verses should make you think.

Summary of the New Covenant in Relation to the Ten Commandments:

Ten Commandments are on Tables of Stone:
 

Deuteronomy 4:10-14 NKJV

…And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone…

The Tables of Stone = Old Covenant

I Kings 8:9, 21 NKJV

Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a  covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is  the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

 

Hebrews 9:1, 4 NKJV

Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were  the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;

The Old Covenant = Obsolete

Hebrews 8:7, 13 NKJV

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. In that He says, “A new covenant ,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Posted in Leaving Adventism | Tagged | 18 Comments